Hello and welcome to Security-Minded!

We want to share with you do-it-yourself security action steps you can take in order to secure your environments and protect your families, businesses, schools, and places of worship.

Having worked collectively for over 50 years in the business of prevention, intervention, and suppression of violence, we have come to notice some common themes. These are common concerns which threaten every one of our personal security each day. Taking time to examine these areas of our lives – and to secure them – will take each of us toward a safer, and more secure, life…

…And that is our desire for you.

Our goal is to encourage each and every person to become more security-minded!

Did you know?

• In an average U.S. workplace in one week's time, 1 employee is killed and at least 25 are injured in violent assaults by current or former co-workers. (USA Today, 2004)

• School violence has increased from 92,242 offenses in 2000, to 147,584 offenses in 2004(FBI, October 2007)and continues to rise.

• The U.S. Department of Justice reports: 58,200 children were the victims of non-family abductions in a one-year period of time.

We are not here to scare you. We are here to encourage you to use wisdom. Wisdom is defined as both knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge. We are here to help you with both as it applies to your personal security needs.

Our team experience in the areas of law enforcement, military, security, clinical counseling, private investigations, and property management, unite to provide you with the best information and professional services available to assist you in improving your personal security.

The purpose of this website is to equip you with high-quality current information and action steps. Assisting you in building safer environments for your business, family, and place of worship is our passion!

Improve your personal security, and you will be better able to protect those you love!

Three Proactive, Preventive Action Steps you can take NOW!

#1: Conduct a General Risk-Assessment Survey.

Years in property management reminded me that a risk assessment is not only a matter of personal security, but an important safety measure. It reduces both liabilities and vulnerabilities.

Don't go and spend thousands of dollars on alarms, cameras, or guards! (Not yet, anyway.) Take a little time to evaluate your surroundings. Identify weak areas, and take pro-active steps to make your environment safer, now! Our free risk assessment checklist will help you identify those weak areas. You can find it in any of our security sections.

True story: A local church had been having trouble with some local teens hanging out in their parking lot Friday and Saturday nights. They left the parking lot littered with beer bottles and trash. Not only was this a nuisance to clean up, it created several liability risks for the church. The Board of Directors discussed hiring a Security Guard. This is where our team came in. Being a small church, hiring a Security Guard is a large expense. We did a Church Risk Assessment and found several less expensive solutions. Addressing this area in particular, a bright light installed in a key location, a few motion detector lamps, and voile! The teens are no longer hanging out in the church parking lot - this one anyway.

Point? First things first. Assess your risky areas and seek affordable solutions first, before moving on to more formidable deterrents.

#2: Create a Pro-active Emergency Plan.

Do you have an Emergency Plan? Is it practical? Have you included everyone in on it, young and old, human and pet? Does it include a plan for fire? Natural disaster? Robbery? Violence? How about the ever-growing threat of warfare? Do you have a Plan B?

Have you rehearsed your Emergency Plan? I know that it may seem silly to act out an actual emergency, but it is necessary. We cannot count on "if" an emergency is going to happen - chances are, it "will".

Your personal security must include a plan for emergencies. My years of clinical counseling experience will testify that planning for an emergency greatly reduces the anxiety before an emergency happens, and assists in keeping the panic reduced during an emergency.

“An ounce of prevention can go a long way.”

Browse our navigation bar to find the Emergency Plan Guideline that will best suit your needs. Then, call a meeting, serve something to drink and snack on, and get down to it! Write out a plan and then practice it!. Your physical, mental, and emotional security depend on it.

#3: Conduct a Comprehensive Background Investigation

Know who you are hiring!

That is the bottom line!

Over five decades of combined prevention, intervention, and suppression education and experience unite to unanimously implore you to perform a comprehensive background check on every person you give personal and professional access to!

Home, office, school, business, or place of worship; nanny, caretaker, employee, volunteer, or intern, take the time to gather relevant information. The time and money you invest in this process will pay off in triplicate. Your personal security relies on it, and it is your responsibility - for yourself and for others.

BEWARE OF FREE BACKGROUND CHECKS.

As a Licensed Private Investigator, with over 30 years in professional investigations, I assure you that accurate, current, and relevant background information is not free for anyone!

We try to make the process easy to understand in our "Background Check" section. We provide you with solid guidelines and suggestions for gathering that important information.

Our mission is to promote safer and more secure environments, to encourage every person to become more security-minded, improving their pesonal security, and to assist each person in making informed decisions which will lead to this end. We do this by combining research, education, and experience.

To learn more about us, see our contact page.

Feel free to contact us with any questions you have that may not get answered on this site. We are here to assist you in building safer environments in your business, home, school, and place of worship.